International Buyers Move Into Austria

VIENNA-The mood on the Austrian property investment market has improved. International buyers are now offering domestic investors more competition, while second row assets offer strong yield opportunities, says Vienna-based chartered surveyor EHL Immobilien.

“Vienna is back on the international playfield,” managing partner Michael Ehlmaier told a presentation in Munich recently. “Especially German institutional investors are looking for active asset management. That means they buy and sell objects quicker than before and that assets will increasingly find buyers.” Apart from the German interest, the main reasons for the stronger market are the Austrian economy rebounding above European average, and the stability of commercial real estate with largely unchanged office rents – combined with moderate vacancies and small price drops in Vienna.